FOOLS ERAND

“I NO DOUBT DESERVED MY ENEMIES,

BUT I DON’T BELIEVE I DESERVED

MY FRIENDS.

Walt Whitman

A sense of humor seems to be the casualty of this “politically correct” society that we live in now. It seems my sense of humor is always getting me at odds with people. Those that have known me for a long time seem to understand when I am tongue in cheek or serious.

Seinfeld made the point that a comedian cannot go onto college campuses anymore because of all the correctness that is prevalent and the lack of a sense of humor.

I love the old comedians because they could split your gut with simple statements or complex scenarios and no blue language. Todays comics do little for me because it seems that profanity is the point of the comedy.

This brave new world of online social media contains so much of what passes for humor and not humor, it is interesting to scan through it. However when reposting something that is purely for humor, especially if it is very true, a whole exchange can rise up that has nothing to do with the intent.

As a writer I have to come up with something interesting on a weekly basis and so I try to absorb vast amounts of information. Serious and otherwise. As a writer it seems that it is compulsive to put forth essays even when you are just out of ideas. I also hate to constantly cover serious subjects so much that it gets depressing. And we have enough of that in the news today.

So it seems that reposting a humorous item that I happen to agree with provided me the material for today. The important thing is that even if you disagree with me we stay civil and friends. This I pointed out to a friend once who had a very emotional disagreement with a subject I had commented on.

Instead of parting on a sour note I explained my position calmly and she saw the point that I had been making. This is what adults do. We cannot agree on everything and if we all did that would that not make this an extremely boring world?

So next time I make a point about something whether serious or in jest, remember that we are friends. And writing today is a fools errand that I gladly participate in.

And remember that the biggest joke of all is politics. And politics gives me so much material.